So how do we go about creating a premium version? Let’s go over some tips.
Remember, its premium version will cost more. Therefore, you need to offer more to your customer. The smart thing is that the increase in price is always much greater than the increase in effort and time required to produce it, so you are always the winner!
These are all good ideas:
1. Make it longer
Add more pages and more words. This is really a simple way to produce a premium version.
2. Have more detail and quality in your premium version
For example, facts, figures, case histories, interviews and useful contacts. Again easy.
3. Bundle in free products
Normally, customers of the ‘basic’ versions of your product have to buy them. By adding freebies, your premium customers can clearly see the benefits of paying more.
4. Include more features.
Embedding software is a great way to do this. Another way to do this is to create your premium version first, and then downgrade it to a basic version. You could even produce a free basic version to promote the premium version.
5. Offer more services
You can offer value-added services such as consulting or mentoring.
6. Put video and audio elements
Perhaps add some additional DVDs, teleconferences, or other digital content. These are the future and add real clout to your premium version.
7. Offer more status
Upgrade your premium customers to ‘inner circle’ status, ‘platinum membership’ or similar. With this they can get personalized service, or even direct access to you.
Now this is where it starts to get exciting. Let’s take a look at the financial benefits to you when you produce a premium version.
Let’s say you’re selling a course that costs £199. Your course has been doing pretty well for the past year. You’ve sold 500 races and made £99,500, not bad for your first year in publishing. That should be enough to tell you that you have a winner and that producing a premium version is the way to go.
So produce your premium version – add a little more length, information and details. Add a few extra services, like email, phone, or Skype consulting. And maybe a DVD or two, as well as some additional content that they can download on your website. Things that offer great benefits to your customers but are not difficult to provide.
Using the rule of thumb above, you decide to offer your premium courses at £599 each. That seems like a big jump. But remember that the rule of thumb suggests that a third of the 500 people who bought your course in the first year probably thought your product was too cheap. And I wanted to pay you much more!
So in your second year, look what happens: You market both courses simultaneously. A third (166 people for argument’s sake) buy the premium version while 332 buy the basic version. This will be your billing in the second year:
332 x £199 =
£66,068
166 x £599 =
£99,434
TOTAL
£165,502
(In fact, you’ll probably sell a lot more courses now that you’re established. But to illustrate the point, let’s calculate things on the low side.)
Total turnover for the year: a very healthy £165,502! Sixty-five percent more billing for almost the same. In fact, he made 50% more money selling half of the premium courses alone!
Another very attractive aspect of producing and selling a premium version is that in the unlikely event that it doesn’t work, you still have your basic version to rely on. So there’s really nothing to lose by giving it a try.
In this example it is a course. But you can use the same principles with any information product: Publish a book, then publish a premium hardcover book. Publish a newsletter and then a premium newsletter for your inner circle. Set up a website and then have a members only area that costs more. Do seminars, then do premium seminars that last several days or a weekend. The sky really is the limit.